Profession wind energy engineer

Wind energy engineers design and install wind energy farms and equipment. They research and test locations to find the most productive location, test equipment such as wind-turbine blades, and develop strategies for more efficient energy production, and environmental sustainability.

Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.

Personality Type

• Investigative / Realistic
• Realistic / Investigative

Knowledge

• Electrical power safety regulations

  The compliance with safety measures which need to be taken during the installation, operation, and maintenance of constructions and equipment which function in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power, such as the appropriate safety gear, equipment handling procedures, and preventive actions.

• Aerodynamics

  The scientific field that deals with the way gases interact with moving bodies. As we usually deal with atmospheric air, aerodynamics is primarily concerned with the forces of drag and lift, which are caused by air passing over and around solid bodies.

• Civil engineering

  The engineering discipline that studies the design, construction and maintenance of naturally built works such as roads, buildings, and canals.

• Types of wind turbines

  The two main types of wind turbines, namely those which rotate along a horizontal or those which rotate along a vertical axis, and their subtypes. The properties and uses of each.

• Mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products

  The offered mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.

• Engineering principles

  The engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.

• Technical drawings

  Drawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.

• Electrical discharge

  Tthe qualities and applications of electrical discharge, including voltage and electrodes.

• Renewable energy technologies

  The different types of energy sources which cannot be depleted, such as wind, solar, water, biomass, and biofuel energy. The different technologies used to implement these types of energy to an increasing degree, such as wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, photovoltaics, and concentrated solar power.

• Meteorology

  The scientific field of study that examines the atmosphere, atmospheric phenomena, and atmospheric effects on our weather.

• Engineering processes

  The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.

• Electric generators

  The principles and operations of devices that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, such as dynamos and alternators, rotors, stators, armatures, and fields.

Skills

• Adjust engineering designs

  Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.

• Perform scientific research

  Gain, correct or improve knowledge about phenomena by using scientific methods and techniques, based on empirical or measurable observations.

• Use technical drawing software

  Create technical designs and technical drawings using specialised software.

• Approve engineering design

  Give consent to the finished engineering design to go over to the actual manufacturing and assembly of the product.

• Ensure compliance with safety legislation

  Implement safety programmes to comply with national laws and legislation. Ensure that equipment and processes are compliant with safety regulations.

• Report test findings

  Report test results with a focus on findings and recommendations, differentiating results by levels of severity. Include relevant information from the test plan and outline the test methodologies, using metrics, tables, and visual methods to clarify where needed.

• Develop test procedures

  Develop testing protocols to enable a variety of analyses of products, systems, and components.

• Provide information on wind turbines

  Provide organisations and individuals searching for alternative energy methods on the cost, benefits, and negative aspects of the installation and use of wind turbines, both residential and common, and what one must take into account when considering the implementation of wind turbine technology.

• Research locations for wind farms

  Perform research on-site and using a wind atlas in order to evaluate different locations which could be suitable for the construction of groups of wind turbines, as well as perform follow-up research on the location in order to aid in the development of construction plans.

• Inspect wind turbines

  Perform routine inspections on wind turbines by climbing the turbines and carefully inspecting all parts to identify any problems, and to assess whether repairs have to be arranged.

• Design wind turbines

  Design the electrical components and blades used in equipment which generates energy from the wind into electrical power, ensuring that the design is optimised to ensure safe and efficient production of energy.

• Record test data

  Record data which has been identified specifically during preceding tests in order to verify that outputs of the test produce specific results or to review the reaction of the subject under exceptional or unusual input.

• Test wind turbine blades

  Test new designs of wind turbine blades which are meant for usage on wind farms in air tunnels designed for the purpose, ensuring that the blades are functional and safe for usage on the target wind farm.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB